University railway station serves the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

, Birmingham Women's Hospital, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is on the

Cross-City Line The Cross-City Line is a commuter rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New ...

, which runs from

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

and Bromsgrove to

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

via

Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...

. Most services are operated by

West Midlands Railway West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

who manage the station, but some are operated by CrossCountry. The station is the only main line railway station in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

built specifically to serve a

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

History

Located on the former Birmingham West Suburban Railway, University station was built in 1977–8 to the designs of the architect John Broome as part of the upgrade of the Cross City line. The station was opened by William Rodgers, the Secretary of State for Transport, on 8 May 1978. It is a short distance away from the former Somerset Road station which closed in the 1930s. The station is in part built on the site of the ancient Metchley Roman Fort. The Cross-City Line was electrified in 1993 and the current

Class 323 The British Rail Class 323 are electric multiple unit (EMU) passenger trains built by Hunslet Transportation Projects and Holec. All 43 units were built from 1992 through to 1995, although mock-ups and prototypes were built and tested in 1990 ...

electric multiple units An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

were introduced by British Rail on local services. In 2017, it was announced that University railway station would receive up to £10 million as an improvement fund to enhance passenger experience and reduce overcrowding, as part of the Government's Midlands Engine Strategy.

Facilities

Pedestrian access is via University Road West, close to the Medical School and bus interchange - around uphill from University Square. Owing to the station's campus location on a service road there is no car parking, although nearby Selly Oak station is a designated

Park and Ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system ( ...

station. The station is alongside the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, a popular

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...

and

jogging Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

route. Access is at street level as there is a fence between Platform 2 and the

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...

. On the concourse are two automated ticket machines and two windowed ticket booths, staffed all day Monday to Saturday and from 9:20 on Sundays. There is lift access down to both platforms from the entrance. Platform 2 has a covered

waiting room A waiting room or waiting hall is a building, or more commonly a part of a building or a room, where people sit or stand until the event or appointment for which they are waiting begins. There are two types of waiting room. One has individuals ...

. Fare control is enforced by a line of automatic ticket barriers installed in April 2009, as at Five Ways station.

Services

The station is served by

with local

services operated by 3- or 6-car

. West Midlands Trains longer-distance services to Hereford and CrossCountry services to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

are operated by air-conditioned Turbostar diesel multiple units. University station is the seventh busiest station in the Network West Midlands region in terms of passenger numbers, and the busiest without a direct link to London. Just under four million passenger journeys were made to and from the station in the year 2018–19. The typical off-peak weekday service, in trains per hour (tph) is:

Platform 1 (Northbound)

All services from Platform 1 stop at

with an average journey time of 8 minutes. West Midlands Railway operates: * 2tph to Four Oaks, calling at all stations. * 2tph to Lichfield City, calling at all stations except Shenstone and

Duddeston Duddeston is an inner-city area of the Nechells ward of central Birmingham, England. It was part of the Birmingham Duddeston constituency until that ceased to exist in 1950. Etymology The name ''Duddeston'' comes from ''Dud's Town'', with Dud be ...

. * 2tph to Lichfield Trent Valley, calling at all stations except Duddeston. * 1tph to

only. CrossCountry operates 1tph to

Platform 2 (Southbound)

West Midlands Railway operates: * 3tph to Bromsgrove. *3tph to

. * 1tph to Hereford. In the evening rush hour, there are additional trains (1tph) to either

Great Malvern Great Malvern is an area of the spa town of Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, on the eastern flanks of the Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, and i ...

or Worcester Shrub Hill. CrossCountry operates 1tph to Cardiff Central.

Disabled access

There is level access from the street to the ticket office and footbridge. Lifts provide access to both platforms from the footbridge. The station has a wide ticket gate which wheelchair users can use unaided.

Redevelopment

In July 2019, West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) and Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) announced plans to redevelop the station in order to accommodate increasing passenger numbers generally and those arising from the upcoming

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

, of which two events will be held at venues on the University of Birmingham campus. The upgrades are intended to allow the station, originally designed for approximately 500,000 passengers a year, to handle more than 7 million passengers annually. The plans include: * construction of a new, larger station building at the north end of the platforms. * widening of the platforms to alleviate crowding during peak times. * a footbridge over the canal linking the new station to the university campus. * a new public space around the approach to the new building. On 22 July 2020,

Minister of State for Transport The Minister of State for Transport is a mid-level ministerial position in the Department for Transport of the Government of the United Kingdom who deputises for the Secretary of State for Transport. There is also a list of Parliamentary Under-S ...

Chris Heaton-Harris announced £12 million of government funding towards the expected £56 million cost of the project. The remaining £44 million is to be funded by a consortium comprising the

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

West Midlands Trains West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trade names: West Midlands Railway (WMR) (within the ...

and the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP.

References

External links

Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: University railway station
{{West Midlands railway stations, open Railway stations opened by British Rail Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1978 Railway stations in Birmingham, West Midlands DfT Category D stations Railway stations served by CrossCountry Railway stations served by West Midlands Trains University of Birmingham Edgbaston Railway stations at university and college campuses John Broome railway stations